PESHAWAR: The World Bank will provide financial assistance for beginning construction work on two hydropower projects of 245 megawatts in Swat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year, which will generate an annual income of more than Rs13 billion for the province upon completion.

It has been decided that a ‘security package’ would be introduced through quick amendments in the project documents before starting the schemes. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting with the World Bank’s mission that was chaired by the provincial Secretary for Energy and Power Nisar Ahmad Khan. WB’s Senior Energy Specialist Muhammad Saqib, other members of the mission, Chief Executive Officer of the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) Engineer Naeem Khan, Chief Engineer of KHRE Programme Shah Hussain and respective project directors attended the meeting, said a press release issued on Sunday. During the meeting, Engineer Naeem Khan of PEDO said that with the financial support of the WB, the construction work on the two hydropower projects in Swat district will be started this year, which include 157MW Maidyen Hydropower Project and 88MW Gabral Kalam Hydropower Project.

Speaking on the occasion, provincial Energy Secretary Nisar Ahmad Khan said that both the power projects are important for the development and prosperity of the province. On the one hand the projects will bring huge investment into the province and on the other they will make new employment opportunities available.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023